The Air Charter Association (ACA), a trade association for companies and individuals engaged in aircraft charters, has appointed Luxaviation Group’s Nicola-Jane Sellers as chair of its NextGen Group (NGG), which comprises young individuals — all under the age of 35 — who help to set the association’s direction and shape the industry’s future.

Taking up the mantle as NGG chair, Sellers will help the ACA deliver on key projects, supporting its work on sustainability and innovation, and engaging with young professionals in its membership, says association chair Kevin Ducksbury. Sellers will also work with fly2help, a Gloucestershire Airport-based charity supported by the ACA, and dedicated to changing lives through the wonder of flight.

Sellers comes to the role with ample relevant experience, having worked at private aircraft operator Luxaviation Group for nearly seven years, including as group sustainability manager since October 2022.

Describing her journey into aviation as ‘relatively linear’, she tells Runway Girl Network: “Unforeseen opportunities led me to pursue and then dedicate my career specifically to business aviation.”

Linear it may have been, but Sellers is the first aviation professional I’ve ever interviewed who can also boast a former career as a professional dancer.

Relating her dancing career to aviation, she states:

I compare my journey to dancing, a chapter in my life that has, psychologically, shaped the years that followed.

Imagine watching a ballerina in a perfectly executed performance; you see grace, elegance, and precision but as a spectator, you don’t see the challenges and hours of dedication committed to overcoming them.

I apply that same ethos to my career in business aviation.

In her role as NGG chair, Sellers is reaching out to young people to highlight opportunities in aviation and inspire the next group of aviators.

“The aviation industry is undergoing an evolutionary shift, marked by a projected trajectory of growth. This transition presents significant opportunities for the next generation of aviators and the NGG is committed to showcasing these opportunities through regular engagement with schools, colleges, and universities,” she explains.

“We encourage educational institutions to collaborate with us and the wider aviation community to ensure, holistically, that we continue equipping the next generation with the skills and opportunities they need, empowering them to become the aviators of tomorrow.”

There are challenges ahead. After all, a popular media characterization of aviation is that it’s an environmental pariah. And the BizAv sector is often even more harshly scrutinized.  But here again Sellers sees “a compelling opportunity” for passionate sustainability advocates to drive real-world change.

“A collective ambition and shared commitment call upon young people to actively contribute to shaping an industry that can meet present needs and do so without compromising its ability to meet the needs of future generations,” she says.

Working with charity fly2help’s Aim High initiative is another key NGG activity and an extension of its engagement with young people. Aim High showcases the aviation career opportunities available to young people. Effectively, it targets young people who are “thinking about a career in the aviation industry and unsure over how to progress”, Sellers explains.

“Through its Air Smiles program, the charity also offers flight experience days dedicated to raising the spirits of people living in difficult situations. It works with pilots, aircraft owners, and aviation companies, as well as volunteers and supporters. Thanks to the generosity of its members, The ACA has donated more than £30,000 and helped raise fly2help’s profile.”

On a personal level, Sellers admits to having navigated obstacles based on gender and age but describes them as industry agnostic. “They serve as motivation, contributing systemically to my efforts shaping the industry in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Fittingly, her primary career driver flies directly in the face of the popular media perception of business aviation. “As a passionate aviation environmentalist my purpose is to dedicate my work to sustainable aviation, raising awareness of the actions and commitments necessary in an industry that advocates for the long-term wellbeing of being of people and the planet.”

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All images credited to The Air Charter Association